Baquba/Cairo - Arab tribesmen in Baquba have said they will form a tribal alliance to cleanse the Diyala province of foreign fighters and those of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq, pan- Arab al-Hayat newspaper reported Thursday. Tribesman Sheikh Wameed al-Jabouri told al-Hayat that a number of tribes had signed a cooperation agreement to undertake this mission and to bring the city back to how "it used to be." The agreement could be considered "a national charter" that proves their rejection of the actions of the terrorist groups, al-Jabouri said.
The Arab tribes in Baquba called on US forces in Iraq not to interfere with their plans. Deputy governor of Diyala province Sheikh Dari Fahd al-Assadi said "the US forces committed fatal mistakes in handling the security situation in Baquba."
Baquba, which lies 50 kilometres from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, is the capital of Diyala province.
Meanwhile, a terrorist group named Islamic State Soldiers in Diyala announced they seized Wednesday nine Iraqi policemen and a defence ministry employee, threatening to kill them if their request of releasing women in custody was not met within 72 hours.
